


Tell Me Something I Don't Know

by MisterDearest



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy
Genre: Coming Out, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friend code is broken, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Semi-confident Double D, only a bit though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23522914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisterDearest/pseuds/MisterDearest
Summary: After an innocent prank goes wrong, Kevin says some hurtful things. When he tries to apologize a misunderstanding takes place and now he has a dorky fake boyfriend.Double D helps Kevin through an emotional time and in return gets emotional time as well.
Relationships: Edd "Double D"/Kevin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I am super late to the Ed, Edd, and Eddy fandom, but I wanted to try something different than what I usually write.
> 
> Tell me what you think! I hope they aren't too out of character!
> 
> Double D learns a big secret and not to break friend code.

“Please tell me you’re joking Eddy.” By the insistent proud smile his friend wore, Double D knew that his best friend was not joking at all. He went over the plan in his head and saw no plausible outcome where it would go the way that his friend seemed to think that it would. Kevin Barr, the victim of Eddy’s latest prank idea, has been overly aggressive as of recently. More aggressive than he was even as a child, having cooled of the slightest bit some time during the beginning of their high school career. Somehow, Eddy thought that chasing the man with water balloons would fix the jock's mood.

“I am going to have to disagree with this plan Eddy. Kevin, with his athletic passion, is far better at combative strategy than even I am, he will not fall into our traps. If for whatever reason he were to, there is no doubt retaliation would be swift and possibly more violent than would originally be, due to his recent aggression.” Double D grimaced at the rolled eyes he was receiving and the mimed running mouth Eddy was doing with his hand.

Ed chuckled creepily to himself as he loaded yet another unrealistically large water balloon into the wheelbarrow he borrowed from his friend, May Kanker. They had actually almost dated recently but decided that they were better friends. At least she and her sisters had found better things to do than chase them down. Eddy turned his back to Double D and began explaining the plan once more and giving off descriptions of what he would need Double D to build for it.

Doubtful still, the young inventor opened his smart phone and began taking down the items and planning constructional ideas for them. It didn’t seem like it would be too hard this time, he may even be able to add an electrical mechanism to it. He grimaced and crossed out that idea, the last thing he needed was one of his friends being electrocuted when they inevitably used the device incorrectly. They really didn't have time anyways. Simple sling shots would have to do this time around. Primitive but useful.

Once all the people and devices were in place Double D began to go through the plan more carefully in his mind. Kevin would be coming home from his baseball practice and driving his motor bike around the cul-de-sac. Nazz will come out and she will wave him down and ask about a summer homework assignment that Eddy was sure to make her think existed. That was when Ed and Eddy were going to jump from around the house and began throwing simple hand held water balloon’s at the ginger. After contact has been made they will promptly run for their lives and end up, hopefully, in the park.

Double D shuddered as he imagined the outraged face that Kevin would wear while chasing them. Once they managed to get Kevin underneath the tree that Double D was hidden in, thanks to Ed lifting and placing him there, he was to release a simple pulley system to drop a larger water balloon on him. While Kevin was recovering Eddy and Ed are meant to grab the slingshot guns, that Double D created for them, and begin pelting him with large water balloons and lead Kevin away from Double D so he could manage a safe escape from the tree. After that, Eddy planned on having Kevin follow them into the woods where a trip wire was meant to drop the rest of the water balloons on Kevin while they continued to run away to safety.

So much doubt clouded the nervous teen's mind though. The balloon guns were not tested for accuracy, there was no guarantee that Kevin would even chase them after the first large water balloon, and probability of them outrunning the star baseball player was not at all likely. It was an outrageous idea to begin with, but now that they were beginning to put the play into motion, Double D felt dread in his heart. He would definitely be apologizing for them again, and Kevin would most definitely be in an even worse mood after potentially beating them up for the first time in a couple years.

The cul-de-sac has always had their separate friend groups, but they grew up together and were fairly close and courteous to each other now that some of them had matured more. It wasn’t unusual for them to all pile up at one person’s house for a movie night, or for Sarah to ask Double D for tutoring, or for Jimmy to sit with Ed and read different books and compare their likes and dislikes. They were a family, and despite the fact that they still fought and played pranks, it was much more light hearted. So when Eddy proposed this, Edd knew he didn’t mean it to be a rude gesture, but Double D wasn’t sure Kevin would see it that way.

The redhead has been distant since the beginning of their summer, even blowing off Nazz when she offered to talk with him or just hang out, they were made aware of this when Nazz had been terribly upset at the last Barbecue Rolph had held when Kevin refused to show up. Once double D sent him a get well card, that had ended with Kevin ripping it in half and leaving it in the nerd's locker. That one had stung a little. But it was to be expected if the rumors were correct. As it was, many people were saying Kevin’s dad was out of country again. His dad seemed gone quite a lot, surely that worried him. Double D just wished Kevin wouldn't act out from his emotions.

A roar of a loud and familiar engine rings in through the hidden teen's ears. After pulling out a wet wipe and wiping down his binoculars, he brings them to his eyes and watches as Kevin slows and pulls into the cul-de-sac. Sure enough, Nazz stands their waving and smiling brightly. He pick up the scissors next to him and holds it near the string he tied to the branch under him. However, Kevin didn’t even acknowledge her. Quickly making a B-line for his own garage as if she didn’t wave at all.

See as phase one was already a bust, Double D lowered his binoculars, it was for the best. There was absolutely no reason to bother someone that was obviously going through something. Double D felt completely relieved and began to slowly lower himself from the tree with immense relief. Not even the bug spray had kept all of the bugs away, and their was no doubt plenty of bacteria and fungi clinging to him from just sitting on a branch. He could already feel a potential splinter he would have to dig out before infection set in. Double D didn’t even want to begin to think of any of the animals that may have released body fluid there. He desperately needed to shower.

By the time he had managed to hang one of his legs low enough to consider jumping the rest of the way down he heard yelling and cackling. “Run Double D the anger of a thousand Bees has been released upon our heads, we are doomed like Hamsters without sunflowers!” Double D stared in shock as his friends ran past his feet and caused him to lose his balance and fall. He clenched his eyes closed and yelped as gravity took hold of him.

When he landed it was with out doubt that he had busted his nose at the very least. After his body was able to get over the shock of the pain, Double D sat up and quickly recognized that there was a body beneath him. His eyes snapped open. Kevin Barr. Kevin Barr with blood on his cheek and neck was gripping his head and groaning in pain. Double D had fallen on Kevin Barr. Knocking him flat on his back, and managed to injure him. Tears began to well up from the sting in his nose and worry for Kevin.

“God.” Double D winced as more tears filled his eyes at the pain in this nose from speaking. “I-I didn’t m-mean to, Kevin.” Raven haired teen whimpered at the pain, not even being able to focus on the accusatory glare Kevin shot up at him.

“Get. Off.” The redhead growled.

Without hesitation Double D moved to obey. He nodded enthusiastically and managed to get one foot beneath him before he was knocked in the back with something solid and then suddenly cold and liquid. The force sent him down against Kevin’s chest who hissed at the impact. “Son of a bitch!” The teen growled as he grabbed Double D’s shoulders and lifted them both up into a sitting position, Edd still embarrassingly straddling his lap.

“Whoah, sorry. Looks like you guys needed to be hosed down to cool off. Didn’t want you to get over heated from such a steamy position.” Double D turned his head with a mortified look of shock as Eddy waggled his eyebrows at the two of them. Ed stood behind their friend looking at the scene with an oddly displaced displeased look.

“Eddy!” Double D shouted, perhaps a few octaves higher than he would have preferred.

“What you jealous flat top?” Kevin challenged, moving his hands down to grip Double D’s hips tightly and pushing him up and off of the ginger’s lap. Edd landed on the grass while Kevin managed to stand up, knuckles cracking as he clenched them at his sides. “You think you would like to see me take Double Dork right here and now for you to see? Think Gay boy would even like it too?” Double D didn't bother standing back up as he took in the truly hurtful words. Betrayal was the best word he could place to his emotion.

Ed immediately shifted oddly and turned his back to the whole conversation, but Double D could see the way the tall man was shaking with anger. Kevin cackled meanly at this. Eddy glared and lowered his water balloon gun. “Dude, I was just joking. Double D is my best friend, don’t talk about him like that.”

Kevin grit his teeth and shook his head. “Why can’t any of you just leave me alone. I just, fuck!” Kevin turned and punched the tree above Double D’s head. A few leaves fell from their branches. When Double D looked up, he could see the ginger’s face clearly. He was crying, his face an angry red, and his eyes clenched shut tightly. “Fuck you guys, I’m leaving.” Kevin stomped away, and no one stopped him.

Double D watched him leave, guilt and worry competing as the more prominent emotion within his clenched chest. Large hands grabbed his thin shoulders and pulled him into a group hug. “Double D! Kevin was almost victim to primitive head explosions!” Double D smiled up at his sweet, fiercely protective, and secretly very intimidating friend. He pat his friend’s chest in thanks. Eddy was the first to squirm out of the hug.

“We should have just tried our best to beat him up after that. I would not have pegged Shovel chin as a homophobic ass hat. I mean really, he has been cool with Double D ever since he was outed.” Eddy winced as he recalled that he was actually the one that did that. Entirely by accident but, him never the less. “I don’t know why now of all times he decided to be like that. You good sock head?”

Double D smiled again at his friends and gave a small nod. He wished he could say that was his first encounter with threats based off of his sexual preferences. It was however the first time someone he considered a friend had tried to humiliate him in such a way. He didn’t say anything but his friends wrapped him up in their arms and walked him to their usual spot in the old playground to just relax and play on their phones. It was an upsetting situation but Double D was just glad to have such supportive friends.

"Here you go, for the blood." Ed yelled while they all found places to sit. Double D looked over to see a tissue in Ed's hands. He looked over to Eddy in confusion. His frien Pointed at his node to indicate where the supposed blood was.

Gently, Double D patted under his lip. It came back tacky and red. "Oh dear heavens!" He accepted the tissue and wiped at his nose and tried not to flinch at the sting. He felt around the bridge and decided it wasn't broken, just really hurt. He sighed and sat down, pulling out his phone as the other two had.

Sitting there reading about the most recent financial planning for NASA, Double D couldn’t really get what happened out of his mind. So he started to analyze it from a clinical outside perspective. Doing so in the past has always helped him cope with other’s ignorance. He took a calming breath and opened a note in his phone to record his thoughts.

Kevin Barr: Athletic, protective of friends, narcissistic tendencies, combative, self conscious of self image.  
At the small list of Kevin's aspects off the top of his head, Double D tapped his right hand against his knee in confusion. Normally Kevin was the type to take up for mostly anyone but especially friends. Double D considered them friends but perhaps they weren't as close as he thought. Then there is the self image situation. Everyone with in their immediate group of friends and acquaintances have had no problem with Double D's sexuality, so going against them would damage his self image. Kevin would be destroying his image which would conflict with his narcissism , and his standing with friends.

Double D felt hopeful as he was slowly putting the picture together that Kevin wasn't out right homophobic. The fact that he said those things though could not be ignored. If he wasn't homophobic, but still risked his image, there had to be a very good reason. It raised other questions. The ginger knew how much it would have hurt him, yet he said it anyways. Why would he say it? Why was he so angry he would deliberately try to hurt him.

Edd stopped typing for a moment. Something as simple as water balloons during an already hot day would have normally resulted in half of the cul-de-sac joining them for a fun water balloon fight. Even if it was childish, no feelings would normally be hurt so long as everyone stopped when someone said they had enough. He glanced at Eddy who was tapping at his phone furiously.

Maybe Eddy and Kevin were having a fight that neither had told anyone else about. Kevin could have said all of that because he knew it would hurt Eddy just as much as it would hurt Double D. When he thought of it, Kevin had said everything without even looking at Double D. That didn’t make since though, Kevin wasn’t the type to manipulate or drag someone else into a dispute. He sighed and took another look over his notes so far. Kevin wasn't homophobic, and normally wouldn't even pretend to be so even if he were extremely angry at the very least due to his image. So why would he now?

Everything seemed to be pointing to a break in his personality. It saddened Double D to even think it, but it was becoming clear the Kevin was obviously going through something very intense. If it was bad enough that he would self destruct in so many ways, it had to be bad. He was avoiding Nazz, his girlfriend, bailing on cul-de-sac events, and now saying truly cruel things when slightly provoked.

That being figured, Double D wasn’t sure if this was a good enough excuse for what was said, the implications of the words Kevin had spewed in anger was purely awful. He wasn’t sure how he would feel the next time he and Kevin were in front of each other. Would he be afraid of him? Would he be able to ignore the ginger. Or worse, would he completely forgive Kevin, and lead him to believe he was allowed to talk to him that way. While Double D liked to think he had more of a back bone at the ripe age of seventeen, he also knew he had plenty more back bone to grow.

“Earth to Sockhead!” Double D jumped some in his seat. Turning his gaze to Eddy waving a hand in front of his face. “Ed ran off to help his mom with groceries and I’m heavily thinking about a nap. Are you going to be chill by yourself or do you wanna come over?”  
Double D wouldn’t say he cringed at the offer, but he definitely knew he reacted in some way when Eddy rolled his eyes. “I think I will just head back to my house. When you are awake and Ed is free, come and retrieve me.” Eddy nodded and walked away. Eddy’s house has only gotten messier and messier over the years. Double D had learned better than to brave that cave.  
After a few minutes, Double D eventually lifted himself up and made his way to the house. His parents were away once more, but should return before school picked back up. Edd wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but he knew it was good. He needed to complete a few more personally assigned experiments anyways, some his parents wouldn’t want to see around the house, so Double D allowed himself to smile as he walked.

“Um, hey.” Double D stopped dead in his tracks. Sat on his front steps was Kevin Barr. He had a small smile, but he uncharacteristically looked nervous. “I uh, wanted to stop by and see if I could talk to you about earlier.” Slowly the ginger stood, normally only an inch or two shorter, barely came to his chin with his hunched posture. Clearly a sign of regret.

There were many emotions in Double D's mind. He tried to categorize what he was feeling but couldn't quite keep a grasp on one or another. Was he sad, scared, mad? He didn’t know. Disappointment was definitely lurking somewhere beneath everything though. He glared at Kevin and straightened his back. Whatever he was feeling, he was going to make it clear that it wouldn't happen again. “Whatever you have to say can be said right here and now and within a set time limit of three minutes.” Despite being able to sound firm, there was a tremble in his knees that he hoped he could get under control soon.

Surprisingly, Kevin nodded as if he expected Double D to say all that he had. He took in a large breath and lifted his eyes to meet Edd’s. “I had no right to say what I said. I wasn’t actually mad at any of you even if that was really annoying. I’m really sorry man. I wanted to tell you I’m not actually like that, I’ve just had the worst day of my life. I know that’s no excuse though".

At the brisk and time efficient apology, Double D stood in a state of mild stun. Kevin had spewed out his apology as a type of stream of consciousness and it felt honest enough but was so quick that it took Double D quite some time to analyze it. Kevin kept eye contact with a look of genuine repentance. A small part of Double D didn’t want to forgive this man. Not when he went for the most sensitive topic to hurt him with. The image of Kevin crying was still at the forefront of his mind though and he himself had figured out Kevin was baring something troubling.

With a sigh, Double D relaxed his stance and began to walk passed Kevin towards his front door. When he grabbed the door knob he looked over his shoulder to see Kevin still standing there with his head hung low. “You may come inside with me. I would like to hear about your day.”  
Kevin whipped around with a watery look of surprise. He hesitated though. Fiddled with his hat and adverted his eyes. Double D decided to take pity on him. “I won’t force you, but it would be healthier to get these things off your chest rather than hurt the people around you.” From the way Kevin flinched it was obvious that he may have said that with a bit more feeling than he meant to let slip.

Never the less, Kevin nodded and they walked inside together. Double D motioned for Kevin to take a seat in the living room while he retrieved them some drinks from the kitchen. When he came back into the room Kevin stood to help Edd with the pitcher of tea and cups he was carrying. They sat next to each other and took sips of their respective teas.

The thought had occurred to Double D while getting the drinks that this would be awkward and so he was surprised when Kevin bumped his knee against his and grinned up at him. “So what’s up, Double D?”

A warm genuine happiness filled Double D's chest at the question. “Well, thank you for asking. I’m doing well. Would you like to start about your day?” He smiled sweetly back at Kevin, fully aware that it would annoy the man that he had thwarted his attempt at changing the topic before they even began talking.

True to his jump in with both feet attitude, Kevin took a calming breath and began. "I’m gay.” Kevin flinched as if expecting to be struck for admitting to that.

While shocked, Double D knew that his reaction should be supportive and none demeaning. “Thank you for sharing that with me Kevin. I wouldn’t have guessed at all, but I’m glad you trusted me with this. It will stay between us.” He nearly pat himself on the back for somehow being able to say that calmly despite the shock and thousands of questions that swarmed in him. It was rewarding when Kevin looked up with confusion before cautiously smiling. It was less rewarding though when Kevin started to cry right there on the couch.

“Oh, Kevin! Oh dear, is there something I can get you?” Double D immediately reached to the side table and pulled several tissues from the box placed there.

Kevin cursed several times as he wiped bare handed at his face until Edd forced the tissues into his hands. While the redhead wiped his face and the sniffles subsided, Double D tried to find something else to focus his attention on. He always found it difficult to face people while they cried, he never knew how to comfort them or if he should give them privacy.

“Fuck man, I’m sorry. That was,” Kevin sniffled again and finally lifted his face and gave a smile. “Definitely the most lame thing I’ve ever done.”

“No, not at all. I also cried when I was first able to tell someone on my own volition.” It felt odd speaking about a time that nearly mentally scarred him as jovially as he does, but as long as it helped Kevin to feel more comfortable in his vulnerability, Double D felt that he could handle it.

A huff escaped Kevin as he straightened his back and started once more.

"Well the thing is, Nazz and I broke up this morning after my practice because I couldn't bring myself to tell her I love her. We got into a fight and she broke up with me but I didn't really feel upset. She confronted me a little while later and demanded I tell her why I've been distant, and if she did anything wrong. No matter what I said she wouldn't believe that she didn't do anything so I told her I was gay." Kevin had tears in his eyes but his glare was intense as he gazed off into space, as if seeing the memories payed out before him. "She was chill with it, but she keeps asking if I am lying about it to get out of telling her the real truth. She was being so loud about it a couple of guys from the team over heard and started to ask about it but I managed to lie and take Nazz home. I dropped her off and told her I would be back, but as soon as I come back you guys jumped me and, I just lost it."

"That is a lot of things to deal with, I'm sorry. I believe even if it spread, your friends would stand by you. You said Nazz was perfectly fine with it after you explained it right?" Kevin gave a small nod but reached up and pulled his hat off to wring nervously in his hands. "Was their something else that happened?" Edd asked cautiously.

"The thing is, my dad has come home again from his work trip. He's already been a real fuckin drill sergeant at home. I don't think he will take it too well when he finds out. Probably beat me into a bloody mess." Kevin gave another curse and rubbed his hands around his head and over his shorter undercut hairs.

Double D wondered if he had been serious. Gently he placed a hand on his arm, feeling the tensed muscles as he basically clawed at his scalp. "Kevin do you think you could sit up and drink a few sips of your drink?" Kevin looked up with a grumpy look of confusion so Double D quickly continued to defend himself. "Not to boss you around or anything. I am just afraid you will have a panic attack, which I am not equipped to deal with. All I have is my inhaler which I will definitely need if you have a panic attack."

Kevin sat up straight once more and laughed with his head thrown back. He held his stomach until he was finally able to turn back to Double D who wasn't entirely sure what had happened. "Double D you keep making me feel better. It makes me feel even worse about what I said earlier. That was really skeezy of me." Kevin grimaced with his node scrunched up.

Double D squeezed his hand that was still around his now relaxed forearm and then let the arm go in embarrassment. "It's fine Kevin. I knew something must have been troubling you. I tried to ask them to leave you alone but Eddy insisted it would help you get out of your funk."

Kevin turned in his seat with a hand held dramatically to his chest. "I was not in a funk!"

Double D giggled at him but shrugged. "You have been pretty withdrawn. Perhaps more has happened than just today?"

"No! Well I mean yes, but it's sorta. Um, let's just say I sorta figured out for sure I'm gay this week and I wasn't sure what to do with it. I've been pretty sure since the end of school last year, but now I know. I'm just over thinking things." Kevin turned red and turned his head away but didn't shut himself off like before.

With more embarrassment than ever, Double D thought about his first confirmed gay experience and felt himself cringe as well. "Oh dear I remember that myself. Promise to keep a secret?" Kevin turned back to him, ears still pink, and nodded. "I had a dirty dream about Rolf right before I turned fifteen and didn't leave my house for an entire week. What a way for your own brain to inform you of your own sexuality." Kevin's mouth hung open in shock before he began laughing harshly.

The heat in Double D's pale cheeks cheeks intensified but he smiled genuinely, hoping it relieved whatever mortification Kevin was feeling from his own experience, whatever it may have been. "It really is a secret though. I told Ed and Eddy that I was sick that week."

Kevin's laughter eventually died off and wiped at the tears in his eyes. "Are you joking, you really told me something the other dorks don't know? I feel, honored or something."

Double D felt himself laugh despite it still being a bit traumatizing, unfortunately he laughed hard enough he snorted.

"Dude!" Kevin started laughing again and Edd found himself laughing even more. He felt comfortable with Kevin like he never thought he would. It was peaceful, pleasantly refreshing.

Kevin ended up staying over and watching television while they talked about a many number of things. Kevin tried to explain sports, Double D tried to explain his love for science, they even talked about the prank they were going to play on Kevin. The redhead laughed and admitted that he thought it had potential to have worked really well. They lost track of time and soon there was a loud "ding dong" yelled outside.

"Oh that's Ed." Double D stood up to answer the door but Kevin caught his hand and tugged him back. There was a look of paranoia on Kevin's face that kept Double D from pulling his hand from Kevin's grip.

"I don't want them to think I'm doing anything mean to you. My turn to reveal a secret. Ed could probably beat my ass if he actually tried." Kevin grinned a bit but Double D could see that he was truthfully concerned, with good reason.

"It's fine I promise." Double D found himself giggling nervously, he wasn't actually sure if he could stop Ed in the event that the extremely tall teen decided someone deserved a violent approach. He was sure though that so long as he answered the door with a smile everything would be alright. So he reinforced his smile and squeezed Kevin's reassuringly. "I promise."

Then the front door swung open and in walked Eddy with a key swinging around his finger, Ed followed behind along with Nazz. They all froze when they saw each other. "Nazz?" Kevin jerked his hand out of Double D's. "What are you doing here?

A strange since of guilt welled up in Double D when he saw the glare on Eddy and Ed's face. Nazz pushed past the men and walked up to Kevin. "I was worried you asshole. You've been gone all day and you promised to text me so I didn't worry. Remember that? You weren't at home, or any of your other hang outs. My last hope was to ask Eddy for help. Here you are though, hanging out with Double D, ignoring my texts, and completely breaking friend code! What the fuck!"

"Wait, I'm sorry about the phone thing! It got wet and I didn't want to take any chances so I left it at home in some rice. I didn't think I was going to take more than a few minutes here!" Kevin looked to Double D for some sort of backup who nodded enthusiastically. He was well aware of what an angry Nazz was capable of. "I didn't know I broke a friend code thing."

Nazz stomped her foot and grabbed Kevin by the shirt. "Not just any friend code, The friend code. I, as your best friend, am suppose to meet and approve of all boyfriends. Also as your Ex I'm not happy that you found someone else just a little more than 24 hours after our break up dude, not cool."

Double D felt a dizzy spell coming on, and when he looked back to his friends he suddenly understood what was up with the glares. That was definitely a friend code, and despite how he acts, Eddy was serious about those types of things. Double D desperately took a few calming breaths and tried to understand the random yelling happening between Nazz and Kevin, until he heard something that sent the room into silence.

"Fine! Ok! He's my boyfriend, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It sort of just happened. Now please calm down!" Kevin had a hold of Nazz by the shoulders and looked like he was about to get down and beg for forgiveness.

A scoff from over by the door gathered Double D's attention. "You know I didn't actually believe it." Eddy spoke up with a heavy sigh. "Alright, Nazz out, shovel chin beat it."

Panic gripped Double D. "Hold on, wait. Eddy, I can explain."

"Save it."

Kevin straightened his back and glared harshly at Eddy, who also seemed to be squaring up. Already seeing how quickly a fight was brewing in his own living room Double Do moved to stand between them. "Stop." He said firmly and turned to face the redhead. He grabbed his wrist and motioned towards Nazz. "Kevin it's fine, Nazz thank you for visiting. I really think it would be best if I could have a moment to explain a few things to Ed and Eddy."

Nazz bit her lip but nodded, grabbing Kevin's hand and dragging him away. Double D watched them leave with a small wave and a nervous smile. Kevin looked back and mouthed something but Nazz jerked him sharply out of the door and came back to close it with a mouthed 'sorry'.

Double D took another deep breath and opened his mouth to speak but Eddy beat him to it. "How long have you guys been dating?" Eddy's voice was surprisingly calm. Double D choked on an answer though because, they weren't dating, and he wasn't sure what he was meant to say.

"Do you always let him speak to you like that? Or was earlier just a way to hide it from us?" When Eddy finished he began to turn away, apparently too upset to even wait for an answer.

"Wait! I'm telling you this will make more sense if you listen and let me explain. It's all a misunderstanding I think." Double D felt tears of frustration building in his eyes.

In the silence that followed, Ed turned and stomped off. That was far more startling than Eddy's anger. Even when Double D asked where he was going Ed continued to leave until he had slammed the door behind him and was gone. The normally friendly gently giant of their group was hurt, and that hurt Double D. "Why did he leave?"

Eddy made a noise of frustration and pointed at his friend with a scathing look. "You are a moron. I'm not even suppose to tell you this but he fucking likes you Double dickhead." Double D flinched at the rude nickname. He had no idea that his friend had liked him as anything other than a platonic companion.

Before he could stop it, Double D began crying, he had been concerned about Kevin having a panic attack but he was really starting to wonder if he was going to have one. He couldn't breathe. He tried to reach for his inhaler but the room was spinning more than ever. Thankfully he felt an inhaler pressed to his mouth and he breathed in as Eddy pressed down on it. He always carried a spare, because he was a good friend that cared. Double D didn't want to lose him over a misunderstanding like this.

When he was sat down on the couch Eddy remained standing in front of him while his friend slowly regained his breathing. "Double D, I'm not saying I didn't see this coming or that you guys shouldn't see if it can work out. What I'm saying is that a little warning would have been the nice thing to do, and if I catch him speaking badly about you again, even if it is for cover, I'll fucking hurt him. Ed Agrees even if he is a little heart broken right now."

Double D tried to regain his breathing quickly and grabbed desperately at Eddy's shirt to keep him from leaving. "We." He panted. "Aren't dating."

A look of disgust twisted Eddy's face. "Fucking gross. If it was just a hook up I don't need to know. I never thought I'd have to tell you of all people to not tell me about your one night stands." Eddy almost smiled at that but Double D was once more about to blow his top.

"I'm telling you he only came over to apologize! He told me he had a bad day and I told him he could talk to me about it. We lost track of some time, that's it. I don't know why he told Nazz we were dating. We aren't!" Eddy slowly nodded and eased down into a seat next to Double D.

He was silent and placed his finger tips against each other. While Eddy was thinking Double D tried to figure out why Kevin would have thought it was a good idea to say what he did. Now he had to some how deal with that and figure out how to talk to Ed again. He really had no idea, and it hurt him because he would never want to hurt his friend. He didn't feel the same though, and he now needed to think of how to tell him that.

"You said he apologized to you." Double D nodded. "That only takes a few minutes. And you said he told you about his bad day?" Again he nodded, not sure where Eddy was taking this. "That doesn't take almost five hours."

Double D found himself laughing a bit. "That is a stretch by far Eddy, an hour or so, sure. Five hours is hardly accurate."

Eddy turned to him sharply. "No, I am being serious. I ended up taking a longer nap than I wanted and Ed ended up reading some comics before coming and waking me. It's been about five hours Double D. On our way here Nazz was running around like crazy and when she asked where Kevin was I told her we would pick you up and help look for him."

At Double D's startled look, Eddy sighed and ran a hand over his shaved head. "We came up to your house and I saw your living room light on. I thought maybe your family came home early and figured I'd peek in to see if it was a bad time. You guys were sitting so close to each other and laughing. You kept touching his hand and you guys were smiling like fucking love birds. We all sort of came to the same conclusion and Nazz was pissed. I can't say I wasn't either."

Double D leaned back against the couch and scrubbed at his eyes. "It wasn't what it looked like. It was a surprisingly pleasant conversation but that is all that it was." Double D peeked from behind his hands and saw Eddy nodding. "So, Ed likes me? What do I do about that?"

Eddy turned around and stared him down. "You don't like him like that do you?" With regret Double D shook his head no. "Either you tell him that you know he likes you and that you don't feel the same, or you tell him Kevin isn't your boyfriend and take the chance of him confessing to you. Deal with it when he does."

A groan escaped Double D in a huff. "How did today get so mixed up?"  
Eddy snorted. "You're telling me, I had no idea that Kevin was gay. I mean, yeah I could see you falling for him but, I figured it was a day of heart break I was gonna have to help you deal with."

"Come again?" Double D turned to his friend with a feeling of shock. "What do you mean you could see me falling for him?" He huffed as he crossed his arms, hoping to look a little bit intimidating. He certainly hadn't had any particular feelings for the jock before tonight. Now he felt a sort of comrade in Kevin, but he was pretty sure that was it. He thought, hoped really.

Eddy though, completely lost his shit. He let out a cackle that sounded more hysterical than actually out of humor. "Holy shit Double D! If tonight wouldn't have happened, I think I would still be worried senseless for absolutely nothing. It would have taken you years still to figure it out, but at least you would have been in college or graduated and away from shovel chin. But now," Eddy stopped his mild pacing and ran his hands through his hair. "Now I know for a fact this shit is going to go downhill very quickly. Some genius you are."

Double d remained silent, he simply couldn't comprehend what Eddy was trying to explain. He didn't have feelings for Kevin, and didn't think he would at any point in the future. As he tried to analyse his own feelings and form some type of way to calculate said feelings, Eddy flopped down onto the couch next to him. He elbowed him harshly earning a sharp glare from Double D.

"Go talk to Ed man, I've been doing it for years now. It's finally your turn." Eddy seemed exhausted despite his supposed five hour nap. Double D took in a deep breath and tried to call upon any of the courage he may have gained from getting older. He pushed off the couch and headed steadily towards the door.

He hesitated just for a second before pushing his front door open and walking briskly outside into the night, which proved Eddy correct in his timing. He then prompty tripped over a mass at his steps and nearly fell. "Watch it Double D."

Ed had a hold of Double D's arm, keeping him from falling backwards and no doubt becoming injured. He tried to smile and thank Ed but he only shrugged and went back to hanging his head low.

Doubly D nervously tapped his fingers together and cursed himself for not coming up with a speech or at least key points to hit during the conversation. "Ed, I would like to talk to you about Kevin. You deserve the truth."

Ed looked up confused but remained silent. Double D tried hard to think of the easiest way to explain the situation. If he led with him not being interested in Ed then his friend would know that Eddy told him. If he started explaining that he and Kevin weren't an item, then his friend would assume he had a chance.

"Please Double D, it is not that difficult to tell me that you are not interested in me. You said I deserved truth, I also believe I deserve it quickly and to the point. I like you, and wish you a healthy relationship that makes the fondest memories." Ed smiled warmly up at Double D and slowly reached his hand out.

"Edd, that was astoundingly meaningful, and heart warming." Double D took Ed's hand and gasped when he was pulled into a tight hug. He returned it as much as he could with limited space. When he was pushed back away from his friend the man looked stern as he looked out into the cul-de-sac. 

"If he hurts you, I will be sure to double the damage inflicted onto his body. No more swinging bats and throwing balls."

Double D swallowed nervously at that and watched as his friend smiled once more eerily before patting Double D's head and walking off towards his home. As he watched his sweet but terrifyingly strong friend walk away, Double D numbly waves as he replayed the conversation in his mind. It suddenly occurred to him that he never actually explained that he wasn't dating Kevin.

"Well, It could have gone worse at the very least." Double D walked back into the house and reminded himself to explain that he and Kevin broke up the next day or something.

"Let me guess!" Double D looked around the living room and couldn't see Eddy. "He let you off easy, told you he would hurt Kevin, probably crushed you in a big bear hug, and then walked home" Double D walked around and into the kitchen where Eddy was raiding his fridge for food. Eddy had just pulled out a premade sandwich and a soda when he was busted.

Accepting his loss, Double D sighed as he pulled a seat out from the kitchen table to sit. "Close, he crushed me, then threatened to beat Kevin up, and walked home. He is surprisingly intelligent and perspective at times. He told me that he already knew that I knew he liked me and told me he deserved to be told bluntly and quickly. Odd, isn't he."

Eddy turned around and simply stared at him for a long time before shrugging and turning back to the fridge and just grabbing another can of soda. "I'm heading home dude, see you at school. Hope you situate things with your boyfriend." He laughed as he left, leaving Double D alone with his thoughts. They were nerve wracking and bothersome.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Double D learns about his friend's boundaries and to think more on what his are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may feel rushed, I am not sure why I just feel like it reads rushed but I do hope you guys like it either way!

After everything that happened, it seemed that everyone silently agreed to do their own things during the last weekend before school. Double D never did get to telling Ed about his lack of involvement with Kevin. Eddy didn't call him or visit to invite Double D to hang out. As far as Double D was aware, his friend's were not mad, but he did wonder about the legitness of that statement during his weekend alone.

When Edd arrived at school he trudged lethargically towards his locker. He stayed up a good portion of the night trying to think of a way to speak to Kevin about the chaos the ginger released between himself and his friends, and also how best to better explain things to Ed without making himself sound like a liar. He knew a good chunk of his stress and panic was his anxiety but that knowledge didn't stop the damage to his sleep.

"Double D!" When he turned from his locker he was greeted be an ever cheerful Nazz and nervous looking Kevin. She gave Kevin a slap on the shoulder and giggled. "Brought you your boyfriend! I'll let you have him in the mornings since we have more classes together throughout the day." She winked at them and skipped away, completely unaware that she had completely announced to the whole hallway that he and Kevin were not only gay but were 'dating'.

Double D clutched his books to his chest as he heard a few gasps. When he looked around there were people whispering, staring, and pointing at them. He huffed at that and turned his attention to Kevin, the current trouble maker of his life, with a look of high annoyance. "Uh, hey babe."

The blush that spread over Double D's entire body was intense and damning. "Kevin!" Edd fussed loudly at first before grabbing the redhead by the arm and marching further down the hall way

He steered them to a part of the hallway that was a little less crowded and turned on him with a glare. "Kevin, I do not believe you ever asked me out and I definitely didn't agree to anything. Why did you tell Nazz and my friends we are dating? Better yet, why did you not correct her just now? Don't you realize the whole school is going to realize that you are gay? I thought you were worried about that. You seemed to be the other night anyways. Are you mocking me or something?" Double D definitely had a few more things to say but Kevin rolled his eyes and shoved a hand against his mouth.

Now that he was silenced he was able to take in the jock's appearance. He had bags under his eyes and looked genuinely guilty. "I'm sorry, ok. I panicked. She is like my best friend and she was so mad at me already because we broke up. She was asking if I could make her an exception and I needed her to back off. I just, also freaked out and thought maybe, cause you were already there and she has a soft spot for you, that maybe she wouldn't be so mad anymore. I'm sorry though, for real man."

Slowly Kevin removed his hand and looked down at the floor like a chastised child. Double D wiped at his mouth before he spoke. "What you did was selfish and ill-prepared. It caused a fight between me and my friends. You also understand that telling Nazz a half truth is the same as lying, correct?"

Kevin groaned and rubbed the heel of his palms into his eyes. "I know!" He threw his head back and groaned in frustration. He stood there in silence clenching and unclenching his hands as he mauled everything over. They stayed in an awkward silence for a few minutes, Edd waiting to hear what Kevin was going to do to fix this somehow. "But maybe." Kevin started.

Double D tried to wait out whatever it was that Kevin was thinking about but his patience and time before class was running out. "Maybe what?" He prompted.

Kevin sighed before straightening his back and facing Double D directly. "Maybe we could just keep dating. If you don't mind anyways. It makes Nazz happy, and I would feel more comfortable coming out in this way anyways. Besides, the rumor has already circulated and will reach my father by tonight or tomorrow the latest." At the last part of his explanation Kevin seemed to wince at the mention of his father. "You are the most put together kid in this whole school, maybe it will soften the blow?" Kevin spoke optimistically but Double D could see the doubt of his own words all over his face.

Double D bit is lip as he thought on that. Eddy would be massively annoyed by this, it could strain his relationship with him more. If Naz ever found out, Double D didn't think that would go down very well at all. It would offend her and possibly make her doubt the truth of Kevin's coming out. He huffed and frowned. "Kevin, I just don't think-

Kevin cut him off, taking his hand and pulling them closer. "I need your help, please. Besides, we could hang out more now and you can help me understand what it's like to be out and we can figure out the difference between being out and being out and having an actual boyfriend. There have got to be a few differences right?" The jock before him was all but pouting at him. "It's like an experiment right, do it for science."

Something about Kevin's blatant tactic and the look he was giving Double D seemed to melt his resolve away with alarming efficiency. "Fine, but only for a little while. Two weeks tops. That should be enough for us to have figured out differences and amicably go our separate ways as still friends. It should also give us more than plenty of experience with social acceptance and tolerance." Kevin looked dazed for a moment before nodding emphatically.

The redhead immediately grabbed Double D's books and looked expectantly at the nerd until they began walking towards their shared morning class. As they walked they could feel the intense stares from their peers. It made Double D almost immediately regret his decision. Kevin bumped their shoulders and offered him an encouraging smile. Double D tried his best to return it but he could still feel his nerves slowly unraveling.

* * *

Double D normally didn't talk in class, far too focused with taking in as much as he could from his teachers so he could apply it in his personal studies. Now though, he desperately tried to gain the attention of Eddy next to him who was, for once in his educational history, focusing on his notes. "Eddy please." Double D nervously looked from his friend to the back of the teachers head as he marked things down on the white board. "I know you aren't pleased with me at the moment but I am very unnerved and need to talk."

Slowly his friend tore his eyes away from his paper and sighed. "Yeah man what's up?"

For effency Double D decided to speek directly. "Kevin asked me out in the hallway after Naz told the whole school that we were dating." Eddy smirked and turned to him with too much mischief in his eyes. Just as he raised his hand to say something Double D held up his hand and interupted. "Please, no need to exclaim that you were correct or make a quip I've already heard them and I admit you were in fact partially correct."

Eddy frowned and turned back to his paper with a mumbled, "Party Pooper." He took his pencil and began scribbling in the margins. "What did you say to him?" He finally asked.

"Well, the thing is I tried to say no but he sort of begged me since he said he wanted to use the situation as a way to come out properly to everyone. I have to agree the situation has gotten out of hand and the rumour will not go away easily. Explaining away our involvement with each other has already proved difficult enough and will seem untruthful and difficult especially with, well, everyone." Last minute Edd decided to leave Kevin's dad hush for the moment. It didn't seem like something that Kevin wanted people to know too much about.

"Keep the mumbling to a low roar Double D. The class needs to hear their lesson." Said student bites his lip as he looks up and realizes he was talking just a bit too loud. "Anyways, in the seventeen hundreds-"

Double D glanced at Eddy who was covering his mouth and snickering hysterically. "Ha ha very funny, let's talk at lunch at least." Eddy settles a bit and nods as he rips his notes out of his book and wads it up. Edd grimaces but ignores it.

* * *

When lunch finally arrived Double D actually tried to make it to the cafeteria quickly instead of staying behind to perfect his notes and let the crowds die down. He spotted Ed and Eddy already in line and began to make a B line for them when his book bag was snagged and he was jerked back into someone's arms. He panicked and squirmed out of his back back and turned to run but his arm was grabbed firmly.

"Whoa, I didn't mean to freak you out Double D. I just figured maybe we should sit together today?" Kevin explained. He lowered his grip from Edd's arm down to his hand, he was far more gentle than Double D would have thought.

"Oh, well, of course. I just really need to talk to Eddy and Ed at least for a moment." Kevin nodded and began to lead them in that direction when two guys stepped in front of them. Double D started to excuse them but noted that Kevin moved to place himself in front of him.

"Is it actually true? We thought Nazz was just joking, like trying to get out of your relationship but, damn. Guess you're really doing this." The shorter brown haired man said nervously, looking like he was cautiously taking in the sight of Kevin and Double D stood together.

The taller guy seemed a lot more aggressive as he looked them up and down and down at their intertwined hands. Kevin's grip weakened as they both blatantly stared at their hands for a few seconds. When Edd turned to gauge his fake boyfriend's reaction he noted the clenched jaw, his palms her tense, he leaned away from Double D with his shoulders hiked. Plain signs that he was highly uncomfortable and anxious and would become defensive soon

Once he realized the stress Kevin was under, Double D felt a sense of protectiveness envelope him. "Gentlemen, to put this quickly, it is illegal to bully, harass, or other wise make others feel uncomfortable in public settings. To do any of those because of something as specific as sexuality is considered targeting and could be filed away in permanent records and even go as far as time away. Any punishment from the likes of harassment could be detrimental to anyone looking to be on or stay on a sports team. Isn't that interesting." Double D smiled confidently despite the fact that he could feel his stomach turning with anxiety. When the two guys looked shocked and then angry he wondered if he had only made things worse.

"Tch, whatever." The taller guy huffed before glaring directly at Kevin and walking away as his friend hesitantly followed behind.

Kevin gently tugged at Double D's hand, once more leading them to where they were headed. "That was literally the coolest thing." Double D looked over at Kevin in confusion. He was met with a blinding smile and Kevin's eyes squinted up in mirth. "You completely annihilated them." Kevin whooped.

Despite Kevin completely supporting him, and the warmth that spread in his chest at the praise, Double D decided to not respond. He has been through enough bullying to know that wasn't the end of it at all. It could get worse, it may not. It definitely wasn't the end though. Double D decided to let the ginger have this small win to celebrate.

"Oh hell no." Double D and Kevin both stopped at the sound of Eddy's less than enthusiastic outburst. He rushed to them and tried to push them away from the table he was just sat at. "You can't just bring your boyfriend around like that. Double D! You know how Ed feels. Can't your genius brain calculate how this would make him feel after everything?" Eddy fussed as he chanced a look over his shoulder at Ed who was sat completely focused on turning his food into a structure of some sort.

Pure guilt ran through Double D at his lack of thoughtfulness. He decided that he was either very clueless or entirely ignorant on emotions and would dedicate time soon to educate himself. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I just know that we needed to talk."

Eddy nodded sarcastically and looked them both up and down. "I've already told you what I think, and Ed's already told you how he felt. Just give us some damn time to come to terms with it, yeah?" Double D felt hurt by Eddy's harsh words but knew him well enough to understand what he meant.

On the other hand though, Kevin has never entirely understood Eddy's gruff way of speaking. "Dude, do you always talk to him like that?" Kevin hissed out.

Eddy's eyes went from critical to completely furious. "Says the asshole that literally called him 'gay boy' yesterday. Sure showed your love back there by the way." Eddy growled right back at him.

They would have went on back and forth like that until it broke down into a fight. "Stop! Please stop! Kevin apologized for doing that and Eddy has a point. If you guys are still mad at me, then I can give you guys space." Edd fussed and turned away before anyone noticed the tears once more building up in his eyes.

He kept walking despite hearing both Kevin and Eddy calling out to him and then them beginning to argue once more. He needed away from that entire mess as soon as possible. He didn't realize that Eddy and Ed were going to have such a hard time with him dating. Not that they were actually together, but that his best friends would be so against him being with someone they thought he might truly like.

Double D felt even more tears well up, nearly blinding him as he walked down the halls. If they were so sure he liked Kevin wouldn't the logical thing for a friend to do is be happy for him? To show some support? To at least give his new boyfriend a chance because they loved Edd and want him to be happy? Double D didn't even know where he was anymore, he simply put his back to a wall and slid down. He pulled his beanie further down over his eyes and tucked his head down against his pulled up knees.

As he cried in his little fetal position he hoped that he was somewhere that not many students would be able to see him. "What's got you looking like that buddy?" The voice startled him but Double D did his best to not show it and to wipe at his eyes covertly.

It was Rolf. Double D tried really hard not to scream in frustration at the irony. "I'm sorry Rolf I am just having a disagreement with Eddy. I am sure it will blow over soon but for now it feels quite terrible." He explained while slowly pushing his beanie back up into it's proper position.

When he looked up it seemed like Rolf was especially disappointed. The blue haired teen grabbed Double D by the upper arm and hoisted him onto his feet like he weighed nothing. "This nonsense about ed-boys fighting. I do not want to hear it." He dusted off Double D's pants and puffed out his chest with a look of determination. "Whatever the argument is, it will not be solved with tears and hiding away. Must speak with them, then you will see it was nothing at all. Or perhaps something much bigger than thought. All can be fixed though."

In a way Double D felt required to thank Rolf for his words, but they most certainly were not helpful in cheering him up or solving his issue. None the less he did mumble a thank you before attempting to leave. He was caught though and was turned back to look at the blue haired teen once more. He was really having enough of being man handled today.

He was examined for a solid minute in silence before Rolf spoke again. "You have grown to be a tall, handsome, well groomed man. Be proud of who you are, yes?" Rolf smiled peacefully and that did genuinely make Double D feel better.

"Thank you Rolf that means a lot." He said returning the smile.

"Yes yes. Rolf did not know that Double D was homosexual. Rolph would have stolen you away before Kevin did for sure. Rolf is irresistible!" Rolf flexed his very thin arms and had a strange look on his face that Double D was sure was suppose to be some type of attractive look. Whether he was joking or not was indeterminable though and that unnerved Double D more than anything.

"Rolf, please don't go stealing my boyfriend, I just got him."

Both teens turned to see Kevin standing at the beginning of the hall a couple feet from them. Rolf laughed loudly and walked towards Kevin speaking too fast for Double D's stunned mind to keep up with. They high fived before Rolf rounded the corner entirely.

When Double D looked back at Kevin, he could see the jock trying to hold back laughter. Double D straightened his back and gave a stern look to the teen. "Do not laugh at me Kevin." The redhead's hands were thrown up in defense and he started towards Double D. Every step he took though he seemed to be losing his control on his laughter. As much as Double D didn't feel well, he felt himself slowly falling into giggles as well.

When they were finally toe to toe Kevin burst into loud uncontrollable laughter. Double D swung at Kevin's chest but was sure it felt like little more than a pat. He too lost it and they held onto each other to keep steady. Kevin grabbed Double D's shoulder, and Double D had a hold of his arm. It felt inexplicably delightful to just laugh and be around Kevin despite the drama and stress that had been caused by the exact same man.

"I can't believe your first true love tried to steal you away before our 24 hour anniversary." Kevin laughed even harder for a second.

Double D shook his head and huffed out. "I can't believe he didn't know I was gay. I was sure everyone knew by now." Kevin shrugged and his hand fell to grab Double D's. "I need to talk with Eddy but he is upset." Double D sighed. He was beginning to feel that deep hopelessness sink in once more.

Kevin turned and tugged his fake boyfriend along as he walked. They were heading back towards the cafeteria which freaked Double D out more than anything considering Nazz's ability to spread gossip was nearly instantaneous and unstoppable. "Kevin! Kevin no, hang on. I am not ready! We have already been approached concerning our relationship, and Ed and Eddy are still not happy! There are too many other variables for me to be sure this won't continue to spiral into a negative outcome!"

Kevin abruptly stopped and turned back to the other. They were at the entrance to the cafeteria but no one had spotted them yet. "What is it babe?"

Again, what felt like a full body flush engulfed Double D. "K-kevin! I am not used to such things and am uncomfortable with a lot of public display of affection." Double D hurriedly explained while trying to look at anything other than Kevin.

"Oh." Double D looked up at that and saw that Kevin himself had slightly pink cheeks and looked rather abashed. "Well, I'm sure today we can chill with that since you aren't used to it. Well, I was just going to drop you off at Eddy's table. We sorta talked after you left." Kevin looked down, his hand coming up to scratch at his hairline nervously.

"Yeah?" Double D pressed.

"We kinda figured we were both being kinda pushy about our own thing. Well, we told each other that the other was being pushy. We are going to try to knock it off. Today you can spend it getting used to things and talking with Eddy. I figured if nothing else, today after school we could meet up and talk things out. You know, plan some stuff." Kevin looked up at Double D with the roundest puppy dog eyes.

Coming from Kevin, they shouldn't be very effective but as he stared Kevin down he felt his frustration ease away a touch more. "Oh, okay. I am not sure if my parents will be home tonight or tomorrow night so I will need to figure that out. But of course we can work something out." Kevin whooped loudly, gaining the attention of everyone closest to them.

Double D huffed out in frustration yet again at Kevin. The redhead smiled sheepishly before grabbing his hand and bringing it up for a kiss and cackling as he ran away and called over his shoulder, "See you later babe!" Edd was sure he wasn't going to make it much longer at this rate.

He walked through the cafeteria back towards his friends, avoiding all eye contact, and there was plenty of it. When he sat down Eddy looked over at him with a bored expression that spread out into a grin. "Well well well, is that a blush that I see? You get a kiss or something?"

Instead of answering Eddy, who would no doubt only continue tormenting him, Double D decided to get right to the point while Ed was back up at the lunch line once more. "About what I was trying to explain to you in class. Kevin would like to continue to fake date until he feels more comfortable being out in school as gay. I am in belief that i am going to allow this to go on for a short period of time but am very unsure how it will actually turn out." He took a few deep breaths once he was finished, trying to calm himself before his breathing got out of control. "I am not used to any of this. It would help him greatly and I do wish to help, but it has already created a barrier with the two of you."

Eddy sighed and sat back in his seat. "Double D, if you want to date him, then date him. If he hurts you, I'll be here, but I am warning you that he definitely will and that I will most definitely say 'I told you so' when the time comes."

Double D felt his anxiety ease a bit and his annoyance spike. Eddy was a truly good friend, but that didn't mean he pulled punches with those closest to him. "Eddy please, I told you that it would be fake dating. No one will get their feelings hurt if we both agree it will be a false relationship." Double D felt better about it when he worded it that way but then Eddy cocked his head and gave him a look like his intelligent friend had missed a crucial part of one of his plans.

They apparently ran out of time to talk when Ed sat down next to them and waved before going straight into sculpting his food once more with a semi concentrated look. Eddy shot Double D an oddly meaningful look before leaning across the table a bit to grumble out his last thoughts on the situation. "Just make sure your fake relationship doesn't create real feelings. If it gets out, I didn't know anything about it, and I will die swearing I didn't know."

Double D stared at Eddy for a long time feeling oddly chastised and disturbed. Only when Ed pulled them into listening to his story about a frog outside the window of one of his classes, did the tension start to leave his shoulders. It seemed like Eddy and Double D were back to goofing off, but every once in a while he would catch Eddy looking at him with what seemed like genuine concern.

* * *

Double D spent the rest of the day throwing himself into his work. He finished his assignments within class time and even had time to run to the library to pick up a few books for self assignments. He walked with Eddy and Ed back to the cul-de-sac. They talked and goofed around until they had to part ways. Double D broke it to his friends that he and Kevin were going to hang out, Eddy just nodded and Ed looked less happy as he waved goodbye and followed Eddy.

When Double D headed back towards his house he saw that Kevin and Nazz were stood in front of his house. He couldn't see Kevin's face but Nazz seemed to look extremely upset about something and was trying to grab at the redheads face. Kevin swatted her away several times but she was persistent. An odd since of possession washed over Double D for a second but he shook it off and continued to approach cautiously.

The closer he got the more he could hear Nazz's distressed voice. "That isn't okay Kevin! You do not deserve this. We should report him!" She sounded close to tears.

Double D was close enough that he felt it would be rude to not announce his presence but before he could Kevin grabbed her hands firmly and erupted. "No! Damn it Nazz I said it's fine! It won't even bruise, it would be a waste of time."  
A shocked moment passes between all three of them, Nazz staring into Kevin's eyes before she sighed and lowered her eyes. "Okay, alright." The blond puffed her cheeks before raising her eyes. "If it happened again, i won't hesitate though, Kevin this could get serious and I don't like seeing you go through this." Nazz looked over Kevin's shoulder and locked eyes with Double D as if she knew he was there the whole time. She didn't acknowledge him but turned her eyes back to Kevin and leaned forward with a fierce glare. "No one messes with my best friend."

Nazz turned to Double D with the most dazzling smile and walked to him to give him a tight hug. Double D nervously patted her back but carefully watched Kevin who seemed stiff as he turned around to look at the two still hugging. There was a very large bright red hand print covering most of Kevin's face. "Please watch out for him." He heard Nazz whisper in his ear before pulling back and yelling out a cheerful goodbye to both of them. Somehow Double D felt vaguely threatened by the blond. He put it out of his mind though and focused on the injury across Kevin's face.

"Kevin." Double D all but whispered out.

Said teen shifted his stance. "Um, your parents inside? Or did you wanna find somewhere else to go?" Kevin rushed out trying to give a smile that never made it to his eyes.

Shifting into autopilot, Edd moved to check the front door was still locked. Since the door was still locked Double D knew his parents hadn't made it home yet, and he was relieved. "It seems they are still away. Would you care to come in?" Kevin gave a small nod and they walked in.

Kevin walked in and immediately sank into the cream couch with a low groan. Double D made a displeased noise as he noticed that Kevin's shoes were still on. He carefully removed his and then walked around the couch. Kevin had his arm flung over his face looking every bit as miserable as he had just yesterday.

"Kevin, I was wondering," Double D started but wasn't able to finish as Kevin held a hand up in his face.

The redhead huffed and sat up more on the couch. "Just, please don't ask about it. It's just my dad hearing about the whole gay thing. He didn't take me telling him very well. Instead let's just focus on something else. Tell me about your day, or how class was, anything else. Please"

There was a tense silence where Kevin seemed to plead with Double D even more with his eyes. It ate at Double D that Kevin was dealing with being struck like that at home, for being himself, but that hadn't been at all what he intended to ask. "I was wondering," Double D said more firmly this time. Kevin's shoulders sagged as if defeated but allowed Double D to continue. "If you would please go back to the door and remove your shoes."

The startled look on the redhead's face was enough for a small smile to form on Double D's face. Kevin quickly ran to the door and kicked his shoes off with a sheepish look on his face. When Kevin started back towards the couch Double D turned the television on and left the volume low so they could have proper and productive conversation.

"Alright, now that we have settled that. Do you want to get right to business or would you like to watch some television. I could also provide a drink or snack." Double D turned in his seat to face Kevin who was smirking at him. "What is it Kevin?"

A small laugh escaped Kevin. "Nothing just, thanks Dee. I will actually take a drink if you have one." Double D nodded and went to the kitchen. He grabbed a soda for the two of them and also an ice pack from his freezer. When he entered the living room he handed Kevin the drink and the ice pack wordlessly before sitting back in his seat.

Kevin silently placed the ice pack against his cheek and popped the top off of his drink with one hand and took a large drink. Pleased with Kevin using the ice pack, Double D opened his own drink and took a sip, indulging in the sugary drink as celebration. They sat in near silence as an action movie played on the T.V.

While Double D tried to analyse all of the inconsistency within the movie's physics, he hadn't realized just how peaceful the silence was until Kevin broke it. "So" He began, gently placing his drink and ice pack on the table in front of them. With out a word Double D moved the drink onto a coaster and moved the ice pack to sit on the floor so as to at least avoid marking the table. "What all do you feel comfortable with right now. Like, what are we allowed to do in front of others."

At first Double D stared at the jock in complete confusion until it registered what exactly it was they were meant to be talking about. "Oh, well." He cleared his throat to stall while he thought. He thought about some of the other things he saw other couples do in the hall and felt his cheeks warm. Making out in the hallway was well and truly off of his list. Even light kisses were a bit too much especially so soon. Hand kisses were ok, Double D embarrassingly enough found that he had enjoyed it for the cheesiness of it. He sighed as he realized that holding hands may also be a situational thing.

"Please tell me there is at least something you are chill with." Kevin asked sounding nearly desperate. Double D flushed even worse when he thought of the hand kisses again. How could he be ok with those but be embarrassed to hold hands. He felt like a loose canon, taking more than he should. He pulled his beanie down over his eyes and groaned. Too confused and ashamed to properly face Kevin for the moment.

He felt a gentle touch to his shoulder. "Ok, ok calm down Dee. Is it because it's all new? Or maybe because we aren't really the touchy feely type of friends? Would you, uh, wanna practice or something?" Double D peeked out from underneath his hat to stare at Kevin in fascination. He wore a gentle and perhaps even a shy smile.

He fixed his hat and took a deep breath. "When you say practice, what exactly would that entail?"

It was Kevin now that seemed flustered. "Well, I don't know. We could walk around with our friends holding hands. They are just our friends after all, they won't say anything mean to us. Or we could even hold hands while watching a movie? You know, just practice. Get the experience to make you comfortable." Kevin seemed to have the slightest tinge of pink on his cheeks that eased Edd's nerves.

As odd as it was, and as startling as it was, Double D genuinely felt like it was a good idea. He rubbed his chin and thought more on the actual application of said practice. The idea of holding Kevin's hand with their friends around was embarrassing but much more tolerable than in the middle of school. It would be best not to do it very much in front of Ed, and they shouldn't do it near Kevin's house. It seemed like a plausible solution and had the potential of maybe even being pleasant. "Alright."

"Yeah?" Kevin asked quietly. Double D turned to him and nodded confidently. "Alright then!" Kevin cheered. The redhead slid his calloused hand into Edd's slim smooth one.

It was difficult not to immediately try jerking his hand away in surprise but Double D did manage to refrain from his first instinct. "O-oh we are starting directly. Understood." Double D turned and stared blankly at the T.V. Vastly aware of the amount of pressure he was applying, wondering if it was enough or not, and the amount of heat and sweat that would begin to build in their grasp. It was nearly the last straw when he remembered that Kevin was an athlete and therefore touched plenty of things that were revoltingly not sterile.

"Dee?" Said teen nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to Kevin who was comfortably leaned back in the cushions while he himself was sat rigidly at the end of his seat. "What are you panicking about up there?"

Another smaller blush formed on Double D's face as he tried to put his mess of thoughts into order. "I am rather nervous about the contaminants that may be on your hand." He slowly pulled his hand from Kevin's who almost seemed offended. He quickly reached under the couch and pulled out a package of disinfectant wipes. He pulled a few of the wipes out, cleaned his own hands, and then motioned for Kevin to hold his out so he could wipe them off as well.

When he was done thoroughly wiping Kevin's hands down he felt like he could breathe once more. "I'm sorry, I know I will at some point need help with me fear of germs but until then I may need to ask you to wash your hands or prepare to have them be cleaned if we are going to touch." He finished as he threw the used towelettes into the garbage can near the couch.

When Double D looked back up at Kevin he saw that the ginger stared at him with immense focus. It occurred to Double D then that being the sole focus of someone's attention caused the same feeling of nerves and wonderment as holding hands did. "What is it Kevin?" Double D asked after a few short beats of silence.

Slowly Kevin licked his lips as he seemed to examine Double D closely. "Would you kiss me?" Double D made a small embarrassingly high pitched noise at the sudden request. Kevin blinked and quickly held up his hands. "No! Well, I mean. Just, like, with your germ thing, how are you going to be able to kiss someone? Or anything more for that matter?"

Double D felt an even more intense blush spread over him at the suggestion alone. It was a question that Double D didn't like thinking of too much. He knows that he has never been in a situation that a kiss would be deemed appropriate or liked someone enough to even think about doing something so intimate."I suppose I will like them a whole lot, or perhaps the moment will be so enthralling and passionate that I will lose myself just long enough to allow it."

Kevin nodded thoughtfully, continuing to stare at Double D before chuckling warmly. He took Double D's hand in his again and scooted closer to the smaller man. "That makes sense man. I hope you find someone you like enough that all of this comes naturally to you guys."

There was something odd about the way Kevin spoke but Double D hummed and nodded. They sat shoulder to shoulder while they watched a new movie, Edd even being able to relax back into the couch with Kevin. Only ten minutes in, Kevin released his hand and motioned for Double D to lean forward and then back onto his chest. At first he was going to object but as he settled back against Kevin's warm firm chest that he needed to get use to this. Theoretically speaking they wont be cuddling in public but getting used to being this close would help his confidence in showing smaller affections in person. Things like hugs, standing in each others personal spaces, sharing seats intimately. Double D hummed as he rationalized that, yes, this was necessary.


End file.
